Aliyev again demands punishment of Russians behind shoot-down of Azerbaijan Airlines plane

YEREVAN, JANUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again demanded punishment of those guilty in Russia for the shoot-down of the Azerbaijani Airlines Flight 8243.

“I can say with full certainty that the blame for the fact that Azerbaijani citizens died in this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation. And we demand justice, we demand punishment of the guilty, we demand full transparency and human behavior,” Azertac news agency quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying during a meeting with family members of the crew who perished in the plane crash and surviving flight attendants.

“The black boxes are being decoded now, and I am sure that we will find out preliminary results in the near future and everything will fall into place. The whole picture of the tragedy will be clear. And this, of course, will be an important part of the full investigation of this tragedy and the punishment of those responsible for it,” added the Azerbaijani leader.

The Embraer 190AR was flying from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia. On 25 December, 2024 the plane was severely damaged by what is believed to be a Russian anti-aircraft missile during the aircraft's approach to Grozny.

The aircraft diverted to Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting an emergency landing near Aktau. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died in the accident, including both of the pilots and a flight attendant, while 29 people survived with injuries.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin later apologized to the Azeri president over what he described as a tragic incident.

Putin said the incident occurred when Russian air defence systems were repelling Ukrainian drones.

In an interview Aliyev later said that the shoot-down was unintentional.